WEBVTT
STONECIPHER
SET THE FIRES.
HE DID ADMIT TO THE CRIME,
HOWEVER, TO INVESTIGATORS.
ON A QUIET CRAWFORD COUNTY ROAD
SITS AN OLD, ABANDONED CHURCH.
>> I USED TO GO TO THAT CHURCH
WHEN I WAS A KID.
>> IT WAS ARSON NOT AGE THAT
THREATENED TO DESTROY IT.
>> OH YEAH, EVERYBODY WAS
CONCERNED AROUND HERE.
REPORTER: RONALD BINKLEY LIVES A
SHORT DRIVE AWAY FROM THE CHURCH
ON BEACHWOOD ROAD.
HE SAYS THE LAST WEEK IN
LEAVENWORTH HAS BEEN TENSE.
>> WASN'T REALLY BIG.
ONCE YOU GET A HAY BAIL ON FIRE,
IT'S THERE.
REPORTER: THE FARMER LOST 12
BAILS ON MONDAY.
>> THE FIRE DEPARTMENT COME.
REPORTER: HE JUST LEARNED ONE OF
THE FIREFIGHTERS WHO HELPED
DOUSE THE FLAMES WAS ACCUSED OF
SETTING THE FIRE.
>> GLAD THEY CAUGHT HIM.
I MEAN, SOUNDED LIKE HE NEEDS
HELP.
>> INVESTIGATORS SAY THEY COULD
LINK STONE ONCIPHER TO 15 ARSON
CASES.
POLICE SAY IN AN INTERVIEW.
STONECIPHER, VOLUNTEER
FIREFIGHTER AND FEDEX DRIVER
ADMITTED TO THE CRIMES.
>> HIS ACTION WAS VERY
REMORSEFUL AND APOLOGETIC FOR
HIS ACTIONS.
REPORTER: FIRE MARSHALL MATT
WELLS CREDITS THE COMMUNITY WITH
CRACKING THE CASE.
>> GIVES HIM A LITTLE SENSE OF
SECURITY AND SAFETY BACK TO
THEM.
LITTLE PEACE OF MIND.
THEY WERE ON EDGE FOR AWHILE.
>> YOU HEAR A DOG BARK AND
YOU'RE LIKE, SOMEONE IS SETTING
A FIRE OR WHAT
LAST NIGHT, A GOT A LITTLE BIITT
OF SLEEP.
REPORTER: ROBERT BINKLEY SELVAGE
WHAT HAY HE CAN
>> MAKES ME ANGRY THEY SET THE
FIRES.
EVIDENTLY, SOMETHING IS WRONG
WITH HIM TO DO THAT.
REPORTER: IN ADDITION TO ARSON,
STONECIPHER IS CHARGED WITH
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF.
MORGAN LENTNESS CRAWFORD COUNTY
FOR WLKY NEWS.
RICK: THANK YOU, MORGAN.
WE STOPPED BY THE LEAVENWORTH
FIRE DEPARTMENT TODAY FOR

A Leavenworth volunteer firefighter was arrested Wednesday after police said he set 15 fires in the past week, then offered to help put them out.
Brian Stonecipher, 27, is facing multiple charges, including felony arson and criminal mischief.
Stonecipher, who is also a FedEx truck driver, admitted to setting the fires while utilizing his FedEx truck, then volunteering to help in extinguishing the fires, police say.
Crawford County authorities said it was an investigation and concerns from citizens that led them to consider Stonecipher a prime suspect.
They said firefighters responded to 15 fires in the Leavenworth area in the past week, including two within an hour after 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Ronald Binkley was one of the fire victims.
"It wasn’t real big, but once you get a hay bale on fire, it’s there," Binkley said.
Binkley, a farmer, lost 12 bales on Monday.
"And then the fire department came," Binkley said.
On Thursday, he said he had just learned that one of the firefighters who helped douse the flames was accused of setting the fire.
"I’m glad they caught him. I mean it sounds like he needs help," Binkley said.
Officials said after interviewing Stonecipher, they were able to link him to the 15 fires in Leavenworth, a fire on Hoosier National Forest property back in March and two arson attempts at a vacant church on Beechwood Road.
"He was very remorseful and apologetic for his actions," said Matt Wells, an Indiana state fire marshal.
"It gives them a sense of security and safety back to them, a little piece of mind. They were on edge for a while," Wells said.
Binkley said he will rest easier because of the arrest.
"You hear a dog bark and say, ’Well, is someone setting a fire or what?’ So last night, I got a bit of sleep," Binkley said.
Authorities are still investigating the incidents and say additional charges are possible.
Anyone with information should contact Indiana Conservation Officers’ Central Dispatch at 812-837-9536 or the Indiana state fire marshal’s arson hotline at 1-800-382-4628.
WLKY reached out to the Leavenworth Fire Department for comment on the arrest of Stonecipher, but they said no one was available to talk.

CRAWFORD COUNTY, Ind. —

A Leavenworth volunteer firefighter was arrested Wednesday after police said he set 15 fires in the past week, then offered to help put them out.

Stonecipher, who is also a FedEx truck driver, admitted to setting the fires while utilizing his FedEx truck, then volunteering to help in extinguishing the fires, police say.

Crawford County authorities said it was an investigation and concerns from citizens that led them to consider Stonecipher a prime suspect.

They said firefighters responded to 15 fires in the Leavenworth area in the past week, including two within an hour after 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Ronald Binkley was one of the fire victims.

"It wasn’t real big, but once you get a hay bale on fire, it’s there," Binkley said.

Binkley, a farmer, lost 12 bales on Monday.

"And then the fire department came," Binkley said.

On Thursday, he said he had just learned that one of the firefighters who helped douse the flames was accused of setting the fire.

"I’m glad they caught him. I mean it sounds like he needs help," Binkley said.

Officials said after interviewing Stonecipher, they were able to link him to the 15 fires in Leavenworth, a fire on Hoosier National Forest property back in March and two arson attempts at a vacant church on Beechwood Road.

"He was very remorseful and apologetic for his actions," said Matt Wells, an Indiana state fire marshal.

"It gives them a sense of security and safety back to them, a little piece of mind. They were on edge for a while," Wells said.

Binkley said he will rest easier because of the arrest.

"You hear a dog bark and say, ’Well, is someone setting a fire or what?’ So last night, I got a bit of sleep," Binkley said.

Authorities are still investigating the incidents and say additional charges are possible.

Anyone with information should contact Indiana Conservation Officers’ Central Dispatch at 812-837-9536 or the Indiana state fire marshal’s arson hotline at 1-800-382-4628.

WLKY reached out to the Leavenworth Fire Department for comment on the arrest of Stonecipher, but they said no one was available to talk.